k.d. lang was probably the last person anyone expected to headline Saturday night’s opening gala for the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building. Before-the-fact guesses on who it would be ranged from Tom Cruise to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
But the versatile vocalist — her early work was country; she now favors torch songs — earned a standing ovation following a 30-minute set that followed dinner in an opulently decorated tent set up adjacent to the new structure.
Another surprise was the gift presented to architect Daniel Libeskind: a jacket that designer Giorgio Armani made from the same titanium that envelops the Hamilton Building.Arlene Hirschfeld, Scott Reiman and Dick Robinson chaired the $2,500-a-ticket gala that attracted a sold-out crowd of 718. Epicurean did the food and David Squires festooned the tent with white roses and calla lilies for a dramatic counterpoint to the silver tablecloths and chair covers.

Study after study has shown that when it comes to charitable fundraisers, Denver has more per capita than any comparably sized city in the nation. Joanne Davidson has been covering them for The Denver Post since 1985, coming here from her native California where she'd spent the previous seven years as San Francisco bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report magazine.